Waistband construction of trousers and the like



Sept. 24, 1940. H. c. BARD SLEY 2,216,030

WAISTBAND CONSTRUCTION OF TROUSERS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 15, 1938 I'm/sung ATTYS.

Patented Sept. 24, 1940 PATENT OFFICE WAISTBAND CONSTRUCTION OF TROUSERS AND THE LIKE Howard C'obbett Bardsley, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia v p Application August 15, 1938, Serial No. 225,027

In Australia August 27, 1937 1 Claim. (01. 2-237) This invention relates to trousers, knickers and like garments of the kind wherein means are provided for adjusting the waistband of the garment to suit the requirements of the wearer.

More particularly, the invention relates to such garments of the type in which the side pocket openings extend upwardly tothe top of the garment and divide the waistband into a rear section and two front sections which are consightly creases or puckers externally of the gar-e nected to the rear section by adjusting devices.

Hitherto, such garments have possessed various objections, such as undue complexity and cost of manufacture and the formation of unment. Such objections have been due, principally, to the nature of the side pocket construction and to the use of elastic members in the waistband and the provision of a tubular or sheath-like waistband construction to accommodate such elastic elements, belts or the like. Moreover, such elastic elements are liable to rapid deterioration, particularly when subjected to the effects of moisture caused by perspiration of the wearer.

The primary object of the present invention isto provide an extremely simple, inexpensive.

and effective construction for trousers and like garments of the above mentioned type, in which side pocket openings extend up to the top of the garment and divide the waistband into adjustably connected sections, as aforesaid.

The invention provides an entirely non-elastic and non-tubular waistband construction wherein the waistband is divided at the side pocket openings into a rear section and two front sections, the front and rear sections being connected by flexible but non-elastic connecting members which extend inside the front sec tions and are adapted to permit of contraction and expansion of the waistband according to requirements, by operation of adjusting devices associated with the side pocket openings and located rearwardly of said connecting members.

- These connecting members are preferably formed by forward extensions of the rear waistband section which are attached at their front ends to the front sections and such front and rear sections are so attached to the side pockets that the outer walls of the pockets and the front portions of the inner walls thereof are sewn at the top to the respective front sections of the waistband, whilst the rear portions of the inner walls of the pockets are sewnat the top to the rear section of the waistband adjacent the pockerably adapted to form pleats or folds and ow- I ing to the method of attachment of the inner Walls of the side pockets partly to the front sections and partly torear section of the Waistband, such inner walls are adapted to form corresponding folds or pleats when the adjusting devices associated with the waistband are tightened. This ensures that the garment fits snugly to the figure of the wearer without forming any unsightly creases, folds or puckers which are visible from the exterior of the garment.

But in order that this invention may be better understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawing, which is to be taken as part of this specification and read herewith: Figure 1 is a front perspective view of the upper portion of a garment constructed in accordance with the invention and showing one of the side pockets and adjusting straps and pleats viewed from the outside of the garment and the front opening or fly opened out to show the opposite side pocket and pleat from the inside of the garment. v

Figure 2 is a perspective view looking from a similar position to Figure 1 and showing the near side pocket opened out to reveal the inner wall thereof and also the connecting mem- Figures 5 and 6 are detail views of a modi cation, Figure 5 being an outside view and Figure 6 an inside view of the waistband and ad- T jacent parts.

Figure 7 is an inside view showing plainly the fold or pleat in the connecting member of the waistband and corresponding fold or pleat in the inner wall of the pocket.

In accordance with the invention, the side pocket openings of a pair of trousers or like garment are extended up to the top of the garment so that the waistband comprises two sections A and A and a rear section B the combined sections being substantially longer than the usual normal length of the waistband to permit of adjustment of'the waist portion of the garment as hereinafter described.

The front portions of the rear waistband section B are connected to the front sections A and A preferably by extending the front portions of the rear section forwardly across and beyond the underside facing B of each side pocket so as to form flexible connecting members C. These extensions or connecting members are preferably folded back to form pleats or the like C each front extremity being sewn or otherwise suitably attached at D to the inner face of the adjacent front section A or A of the waistband, so as to form flexible and extensible connections between said front and rear sections of the waistband.

The connections formed by the extensions C of the rear waistband section B, and the waistband as a whole, are of non-elastic construction and the additional length provided by the pleats or folds C enables the waistband to be expanded or contracted according to requirements without stretching when the adjusting devices are manipulated as hereinafter described.

The connections C do not enter or penetrate the interior of the waistband and are thus readily accessible and easily attached to the front sections thereof at the inside of the garment.

The front sections A and A of the waistband extend from the front edgings A and A of the fly opening to the side pocket openings J adjacent the side seams J where the front sections are preferably extended rearwardly to form adjusting straps E and E which engage buckles F or the like attached to the rear waistband section B as indicated for example in Figures 1, l, 5 and 6. Alternatively, the adjustment between the front and rear sections of the waistband may be effected by means of buttons and button holes or other suitable fasteners such as ratchet or slide buckles indicated at F in Figure 2.

As seen in Figure 4, the buckles F may be attached to the outside of the waistband and the free ends of the straps E and E may pass through apertures K into the rear portion B of the waistband, or as seen in Figures 5 and 6, the straps E and E may pass through the slots K to a buckle or fastener F on the inside of the waistband section B.

Instead of the connecting members C between the front and rear sections of the waistband being pleated or folded back and sewn at their front ends to the front sections as indicated at D, they may be continued forwardly right across the top of the pockets as in Figures 5 and 6 and adjustably attached by any suitable means, such as buttons or a buckle L to the inner side of the adjacent front section of the waistband. The connecting members C may be thus adjusted in accordance with the operation of the adjusting devices E, E or F.

If desired, a gap G may be formed in the inner wall G of each pocket immediately beneath the waistband and adjacent the pleat C as shown in Figure 3 to facilitate folding of the pleat.

The outer wall G of each side pocket is sewn at its topfor its full width to the respective .closed at the top,

front section A or A of the waistband and the front portion of the inner wall G of the pocket is also sewn at its top to the respective front waistband section A or A as indicated at G The rear portion of the inner pocket wall G is, however, sewn at its top to the adjacent rear section B of the waistband immediately behind the adjacent forward extension thereof as indicated at (3*. This rear portion of the inner wall of the pocket is also sewn as at G (Fig. 3) to the portion of the garment which carries the rear waistband section B and forms the underside facing B of the side pocket as seen in Figure 2.

It will be evident from Figure 7 that owing to the manner in which the inner wall G of the side pocket is attached partly to the front section and partly to the rear section of the waistband, a pleat or fold C coinciding with the pleat or fold C in the forward extension C of the rear waistband section will be formed in the inner wall G of each side pocket when the adjusting devices, provided for instance by the adjusting straps E and E and buckles F, are adjusted to tighten the waistband about the wearer. The garment may be thus neatly and snugly adjusted to the wearers figure without the use of any elastic devices and without forming any unsightly pleats, folds or puckers which are visible from the exterior of the garment.

Moreover, the forward extensions of the rear waistband section B provide a permanent connection with the front sections and, owing to the manner in which the front portion of the inner wall G of each side pocket is sewn to the respective front section of the waistband as at G the front part of each pocket is permanently notwithstanding that the side pocket openings J extend right to the top of the garment and that the outer walls of the pockets may be swung out as indicated in Figure 2 when the adjusting devices between the front and rear sections of the waistband are unfastened. A simple, strong and efficient side pocket and waistband construction is thus provided and any liability of articles falling from the pockets when the garment is folded or held in an inverted position, is thus reduced to a minimum.

What I do claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A garment comprising in combination a waistband having a rear portion, front portions, and extensions on said rear portion permanently fastened to the front portions and adapted to be folded or pleated to form an adjustable continuous waistband; means on said rear portion adapted to make adjustable engagement with rearwardly extending fastening devices on said front portions, and side pockets having an outer wall and an inner wall, the outer wall being sewn along the top to the corresponding front portion of the waistband and the inner wall adapted on adjustment of the waistband to be folded-or pleated in conjunction with the said extensions on the rear portion of the waistband and being sewn along the top of its forward part to the said corresponding front portion of the waistband and along the top of its rear part to the rear portion of the waistband so that the pockets are substantially closed at the top.

HOWARD COBBETT BARDSLEY. 

